Villanova

[Scoop]

Cody's injury?

[b.hayes]

Cody's injury?

According to @BillsInsider 26 days ago: "Cody Ellis is currently nursing a hand he injured in a fireworks accident."

[brianstl]

I was looking at Jordair Jetts facebook and he mentioned that they play duke and villanova this year so take it for what its worth. He will wear number 5...

Man I hope this is true. I will be more excited about a home/home with Nova, than the game at Duke.

[NashvilleBilliken]

I just mentioned this to a buddy of mine who is a Nova alum. He hasn't heard anything, but shared this with me. I don't think I believe it. If so, we'll have our work cut out for us.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/blog/the_dagger/post/Separating-fact-from-fiction-about-Corey-Fisher-?urn=ncaab-261515

[For-DaLove]

You hadn't heard about the 105 point game? It's like a growing legend lol. But, it means nothing that people didn't already know. Fisher can stroke.

[HusakAttack]

I was looking at Jordair Jetts facebook and he mentioned that they play duke and villanova this year so take it for what its worth. He will wear number 5...

That would be sweet if he is as good as our last combo guard who wore #5...

[cheeseman]

It could. Anything is possible. But why make something a 3 game series with one neutral court game where neither team is well represented in the stands? Put another way, why would Villanova want to be an "undercard" game in Indy, Chicago, Memphis or wherever, when they could have just scheduled a game at their place or in Philly and taken in all the profits.

Why would Tenn/Memphis feel the need to even have an undercard game when they will sell out no matter what? Would they enjoy sharing the profits with SLU/Villanova?

It seems like whenever we talk about playing big name opponents the idea of playing on a neutral court always comes up. Unless the other team travels really well, I just don't see what that adds given that SLU travels so poorly.

I'd love to see a series with Villanova, but the credibility of the report took a hit in my mind when the neutral court concept was added.

Don't get me wrong I don't care for the neutral court idea either. I was only proposing a scenario that might explain a 3 game contract. Why would 4 big boys becoming to StL this year? At least was it not reported that there was going to be a 2 game card here with Kansas, UNC, and two others?

[ACE]

If this rumor is true, I hope we get the first game at home, since we will already have Duke, Portland and Missouri State on the road. This could shape up to be a very tough schedule, especially when you throw in Georgia and a possible game with Ole Miss.

[SLUDrew]

If this rumor is true, I hope we get the first game at home, since we will already have Duke, Portland and Missouri State on the road. This could shape up to be a very tough schedule, especially when you throw in Georgia and a possible game with Ole Miss.

If this is true, the first game will be in Philly. There is no doubt about that.

[ACE]

If this is true, the first game will be in Philly. There is no doubt about that.

Why do you say that?

[bauman]

I was looking at Jordair Jetts facebook and he mentioned that they play duke and villanova this year so take it for what its worth. He will wear number 5...

I guess the new JJ hasn't yet undergone training in the RM school of public relations, which can be summed up, "Freshmen don't communicate with the media or the public in general." That means no tweeting, no Facebooking, no interviews, no nuthin!

[Pistol]

If this is true, the first game will be in Philly. There is no doubt about that.

I wouldn't mind that. We'd go to Duke and Villanova this year and have Villanova at home next season, when Mitchell and Reed are seniors (provided Willie stays). Then again, I wouldn't mind Villanova coming to SLU this year to keep our road schedule and home schedule at least a little more even.

Villanova isn't always jumping to play games at the Wachovia Center because it is a frequent host of NCAA Tournament opening rounds and regionals. If a team plays 3+ games at a venue, it is prohibited from being seeded there in the Tournament. That's why if the neutral game theory is true here, I don't see it being at that venue. I wouldn't mind them doing it at the Palestra, to give us another awesome road venue in the near future. I would also like it in Pittsburgh, where I could crash with a friend who went to Villanova- purely selfish on that one, but it's a large market between here and Philly. The more I think about it though, I can't come up with a 'neutral' game that really makes sense.

[Archy McNally]

I would also like it in Pittsburgh, where I could crash with a friend who went to Villanova- purely selfish on that one, but it's a large market between here and Philly. The more I think about it though, I can't come up with a 'neutral' game that really makes sense.

Baltimore/DC, NYC, or Atlantic City would all be relatively close to Villanova and still a neutral site game. I would think a game in Madison Square Garden could still draw a lot of Nova fans and possibly be on TV. You think NYC would have a lot of Nova grads, maybe?

[HusakAttack]

Baltimore/DC, NYC, or Atlantic City would all be relatively close to Villanova and still a neutral site game. I would think a game in Madison Square Garden could still draw a lot of Nova fans and possibly be on TV. You think NYC would have a lot of Nova grads, maybe?

Chicago is a neutral site and major recruiting market for both schools.

[brianstl]

Chicago is a neutral site and major recruiting market for both schools.

But who in Chicago will pay to see the game?

SLU, ND, Northwestern, and ISU couldn't fill up a small arena in Chicago.

[kwyjibo]

But who in Chicago will pay to see the game?

SLU, ND, Northwestern, and ISU couldn't fill up a small arena in Chicago.

This is a fair point but if filling up an arena is the sole criteria then the game could be played in Halifax, Nova Scotia because they have an arena, lots of starved basketball fans, and Majerus could eat at the Wooden Monkey down the road with Ellen Page.

[kevinfootes]

If this rumor is true, I hope we get the first game at home, since we will already have Duke, Portland and Missouri State on the road. This could shape up to be a very tough schedule, especially when you throw in Georgia and a possible game with Ole Miss.

I agree. We shouldn't be shorted at selection time based on strength of schedule if this is true.

[slufanskip]

If this is true, I like it, even if the "neutral" site game has to be in Philly. We haven't been at the level of Villanova and we've been trying to get top BCS teams to play us without a lot of luck. So, even if we have to give a little more than they do to get a home agame against them, I'm all for it.

[bauman]

If this is true, I like it, even if the "neutral" site game has to be in Philly. We haven't been at the level of Villanova and we've been trying to get top BCS teams to play us without a lot of luck. So, even if we have to give a little more than they do to get a home agame against them, I'm all for it.

Since nobody really knows anything about this"game/series" I feel safe weighing in.

If I was the Nova HC and I was going to play a home/home/neutral series against the Bills, I think I would pick going to SLU this yr, then the Philly (or Neutral) game the 2nd yr, followed up by whichever is left. Reason: If he looks at the Bills I think he can see a program which is only getting better each year, so catch them on their (SLU) home court this year for the best chance of winning an away game (for Nova) and then get them at Philly next year when KM/WR are seniors and JB is eligible and the rest of our squad is one year more experienced. Maybe that assumes too much thought on the part of another school's HC, but that's the way I would do it.

[Taj79]

FWIW: My buddy is a Nova grad and bleeds Wildcat blue. He is a regular season ticket holder for the Cats and offered his wisdom into this.

Bottom line: he is aware of nothing brewing on this in Cat land. He said that with a team like us (not a big name on the national scene right now) we would likely get on their schedule for a game at their on-campus Pavillion. He said Nova likes to stay away from the Wachovia Center for the obvious reasons. As for the Palestra, he said no way Nova would agree to split a DH there ---- I get the impression that Nova feels the way about other Philly schools that Mizzou feels about other Missouri schools; they'll honor their Big Five commitments and play nice in the Philly sandbox but essentially they look down their noses at Temple, La Salle, Penn and especially St. Joe's. They seem to believe that the Hawk SHOULD die (the ever-flapping mascot0 and i got the impression they'd pay handsomely for it. If Nova doesn't win the Big Five crown every year, its seen as a bad year locally. Don't be confused, however, it doesn't ipact their Big East and national title desires much ---- kind of a minor speed bump that affects some of the older alumni more than the newer ones.

As for a neutral court game, Nova will not venture into Pitt territory to play unless the local Big East team is involved. He said that due to demographics, Nova might agree to a neutral court game in the Meadowlands as Nova has a lot of kids and alumni in the NYC and northern New jersey area. Plus they recruit a lot from there. Any discussion on Indy or Chicago was scoffed at.

[Clock_Tower]

FWIW: My buddy is a Nova grad and bleeds Wildcat blue. He is a regular season ticket holder for the Cats and offered his wisdom into this.

Bottom line: he is aware of nothing brewing on this in Cat land. He said that with a team like us (not a big name on the national scene right now) we would likely get on their schedule for a game at their on-campus Pavillion. He said Nova likes to stay away from the Wachovia Center for the obvious reasons. As for the Palestra, he said no way Nova would agree to split a DH there ---- I get the impression that Nova feels the way about other Philly schools that Mizzou feels about other Missouri schools; they'll honor their Big Five commitments and play nice in the Philly sandbox but essentially they look down their noses at Temple, La Salle, Penn and especially St. Joe's. They seem to believe that the Hawk SHOULD die (the ever-flapping mascot0 and i got the impression they'd pay handsomely for it. If Nova doesn't win the Big Five crown every year, its seen as a bad year locally. Don't be confused, however, it doesn't ipact their Big East and national title desires much ---- kind of a minor speed bump that affects some of the older alumni more than the newer ones.

As for a neutral court game, Nova will not venture into Pitt territory to play unless the local Big East team is involved. He said that due to demographics, Nova might agree to a neutral court game in the Meadowlands as Nova has a lot of kids and alumni in the NYC and northern New jersey area. Plus they recruit a lot from there. Any discussion on Indy or Chicago was scoffed at.

Taj.

Thanks for the perspective. I toured their facility in the Spring of 1986. Imagine a really big high school gym with really tall sets of bleacher seats which mechanically get pushed back "into the wall" when no basketball is going on. Seats 6,500 as per the attached. Conference games against G'Town and others are off-campus at their version of Scottrade/Savvis.

http://www.villanova.com/facilities/nova-facilities-pavilion.html

[billiken_roy]

i am predicting no villanova on the schedule. i actually would like to know where the rumor started there was a chance of such a matchup. that is a much better discussion topic.

[For-DaLove]

It started with some of our players seeing the schedule and Villanova being on it.

[brianstl]

It started with some of our players seeing the schedule and Villanova being on it.

Do we actually know if anyone actually saw an actual schedule or if this is just a slumor?

[For-DaLove]

Do we actually know if anyone actually saw an actual schedule or if this is just a slumor?

Yes, they did. But, that doesn't mean it was official yet. We'll see what happens.